This week a section of NRM MPs convened a meeting in which
they resolved to bring a private members’ bill to parliament that would lift
the presidential age limit.
Under the constitution the age limit beyond which one cannot
run for the presidency is 75 years.
President Yoweri Museveni sometime back worked out his date
of birth to September 1944 and other the current law would be ineligible to
stand again in 2021.
This subject has been the center of much controversy.
On the one hand are those who argue that the amendment is
wrong as it is tailored to suit Museveni. That the constitution is supposed to
be sacrosanct and not be tampered with willy-nilly.
Were the amendment to be successful Museveni will have a
chance – assuming he wins the 2021 poll to rule beyond 35 years.
Supporters of the amendment argue that the limit contravenes
the constitution by being discriminatory and that there is no valid reason for
placing such restrictions, especially since other politicians are not subjected
to the same restrictions.
"As in many arguments both sides are not entirely correct or wrong, which is why such issues remain contentious...
In US, one of the few western democracies with presidential
term limits, it only became law after Franklin D Roosevelt, a Democrat, sought
and won a fourth term. Prior to that there was gentleman’s understanding that
no one serves more than two terms.
The amendment was sold as a push back by politicians averse
to the perpetuation of a monarchy in the US, but others argue it was pushed by
the Republican party, which at that time controlled both Congress and the Senate
as an attack on FDR’s legacy.
The US is not the paragon of virtue when it comes to issues
of democracy, but serves as a useful pointer as to how democracies, especially
those with written constitutions may operate.
There have been 27 amendments to the American constitution
in the 241 years of American independence.
That being said the spirit of democracy dictates that
everything and anything can and should be discussed. Rather that than we reach
for our machetes when there is an issue of contention. So the anti-age limit
crusade, are wrong to want no discussion on the subject.
But it is understandable why they would rather the issue not
be discussed.
The NRM, which it is thought would support such an
amendment, with 293 of the 426 MPs in hand have the two-thirds majority needed
to cause a constitutional amendment. And just in case easily half the 66
independents in the house lean towards the ruling party and can be counted upon
to “vote wisely”.
Maybe a recap of how this dominance of the political
landscape came to be would be useful.
When the NRA/M entered Kampala in 1986 their military strength
could not be denied their political footprint howeve,r was not as iron cast. In
order to redress this shortcoming they co-opted politicians from existing
parties – whose activities were suspended, while grooming their own politicians
through the LC system.
By the time of the 1996 election, Museveni’s first
presidential election and with a tailor made constitution in place, the NRM had
become politically confident and was in fact beginning to cement its dominance.
Twenty years down the road the project continues.
Some of the originals have fallen by the wayside but a more
vibrant, even hysterical, younger group have taken their place. The old
political parties are but a shadow of their former selves, serving as escorts
at every election, unable to muster a credible threat.
"We have seen it before and so it should come as no surprise. The MPs resolution is intended to test the waters, gauge public opinion, even flush out the fence seaters...
A straw poll done during the week suggests that people -- 72
percent to 28 percent, are resigned to the fact that the NRM will get what it
wants.
When history is written the lifting of the term and age
limits will only be highlights in a narration of how the NRM came, saw and
conquered. Questions will be asked about what the other political players were
doing all along. And it would be
interesting to see how it goes without Museveni as its center of gravity.
